Lake County Lawmakers Bring Home An Overpass

Construction of a $632,500 pedestrian overpass at Aptakisic Junior High School in Buffalo Grove is among dozens of projects that were included in Gov. George Ryan's fiscal year 2000 budget, according to the state lawmakers who helped secure funding for a variety of projects in southwestern Lake County.

Sen. William Peterson (R-Long Grove) and Reps. Sidney Mathias (R-Buffalo Grove) and Mark Beaubien (R-Barrington Hills) held a news conference in Lake Zurich Village Hall on Monday night to highlight the projects that are included in the governor's $42.8 billion spending plan.

Lake Zurich scored over $1 million in public works programs, including $600,000 for a water main extension, and $250,000 to replace a damaged sewer pipe on Ela Road.

Public Works Director/Engineer Victor Ramirez, commenting about what the budget means to his area, said, "I think surprise is a good adjective," he said. "I was surprised and elated both."

Beaubien said he wrote to all the local governments in his district, asking: "What is it you want?" He was granted an allotment to distribute among villages, libraries, townships and fire protection districts he represents.

Among the projects Beaubien came home with was a community center for Hispanics, which will be located in Round Lake Park and will provide child care, health care and youth and family counseling.

Meanwhile, in Buffalo Grove, Peterson announced $126 million in state funds to widen Illinois Highway 22 from U.S. Highway 14 to U.S. Highway 41.

Each year, state lawmakers try to win funding for scores of projects in their areas that are being sought by villages, schools, parks, libraries and other interests in their communities. The projects are called "legislator initiatives" by members of the General Assembly because they are proposals that typically benefit only their legislative district.

Even if it does represent fat in the state budget, no one ever seems to complain when they receive word that the state has agreed to foot the bill for one of their local projects.

According to the state lawmakers, that's because they develop their "wish list" from constituents in their area, who await word each year about which of their projects will receive funding.

Mathias, for example, had been lobbied heavily by Fredi Beth Schmutte, vice president of the Aptakisic Board of Education, for funding for the pedestrian overpass over Weiland Road.

"The high volume of traffic presents, in my judgment, a public safety hazard due to the fact that we have 400 to 500 children crossing the street all day, every day," Schmutte wrote to Mathias last April.

Besides the pedestrian overpass at Aptakisic Junior High School, Peterson said other new projects in the 26th Senate District include $150,000 to the Lake Zurich Rural Fire Department for hydrant construction and $5,000 to the Countryside Fire Department for hydrant construction and new equipment.